Brandon Zimmerman
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Pre-Spring Outlook: Overall Depth Chart
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Over the past three weeks, I have taken an in-depth look at each and every position for the Buckeyes going into spring practice, which is set to begin on tomorrow and culminate with the spring football game at Ohio Stadium on April 16th.
It will be exciting to see the progress some of the younger players have made, especially those redshirt freshmen. Many of these young student-athletes have the chance to jump into a pretty big role for the 2016 team. Guys like Mike Weber, Torrance Gibson, and K.J. Hill are poised to jump into the two-deep and show Buckeye Nation what they can offer. Additionally, six true freshmen early-enrollees will be suiting up in the scarlet and gray for the very first time. Will Jonathan Cooper, Austin Mack or Antonio Williams be able to crack the 2016 depth chart?
These spring practices are very important to all of these young men and will go a long way to determining how much time they spend on the field this year. Let’s take a look at my complete predicted 2016 depth-chart:
OFFENSE
POS NAME HT WT CLASS
QB J.T. BARRETT 6’2” 225 JR (R)
JOE BURROW 6’3” 208 FR (R)
STEPHEN COLLIER 6’4” 225 SO (R)
RB CURTIS SAMUEL 5’11” 200 JR
MIKE WEBER 5’10” 215 FR (R)
BRI’ONTE DUNN 6’0” 215 SR (R)
WR1 NOAH BROWN 6’2” 222 SO (R)
TORRANCE GIBSON 6’4” 205 FR (R)
JOHNNIE DIXON 5”11 194 SO (R)
WR2 COREY SMITH 6’1” 195 SR (R)
K.J. HILL 6’0” 195 FR (R)
AUSTIN MACK 6’2” 205 FR
H-BACK DONTRE WILSON 5’10” 195 SR
PARRIS CAMPBELL 6’1” 205 SO (R)
DEMARIO MCCALL 5’9” 171 FR
TE MARCUS BAUGH 6’5” 255 JR
JAKE HAUSMANN 6’4” 230 FR
LUKE FARRELL 6’6” 240 FR
LT MALCOLM PRIDGEON 6’8” 315 JR
ISAIAH PRINCE 6’7” 305 SO
LG BILLY PRICE 6’4” 315 JR (R)
MATT BURRELL 6’4” 300 FR (R)
C PAT ELFLEIN 6’3” 300 SR (R)
BRADY TAYLOR 6’5” 300 SO (R)
RG DEMETRIUS KNOX 6’4” 305 SO (R)
EVAN LISLE 6’7” 305 JR (R)
RT JAMARCO JONES 6’5” 310 JR (R)
ISAIAH PRINCE 6’4” 305 SO
As you can see, I think the Buckeyes will have a lot of experience on offense this year even if they are replacing a lot of players. I have them starting nine upper-classmen and both of the under-classmen are third year sophomores. If everyone stays healthy, I think the offense has a chance to be very special this year. The biggest key will be how quickly the offensive line comes together.
Behind the starters, I have a major influx of youth looking to make a major impact. With the veterans dominating my starting line-up, 15 of 17 back-up positions are filled with freshmen or sophomores.
The two biggest battles to watch this spring are at running back, where we will find out what the plan is with Curtis Samuel, and on the offensive line where you have six guys battling for three positions.
DEFENSE
POS NAME HT WT CLASS
DE TYQUAN LEWIS 6’4” 260 JR (R)
JAYLIN HOLMES 6’5” 265 JR
DT NICK BOSA 6’4” 265 FR
JASHON CORNELL 6’3” 265 FR (R)
DT DONOVAN MUNGER 6’4” 300 JR (R)
MICHAEL HILL 6’3” 295 JR (R)
DE SAM HUBBARD 6’5” 265 SO (R)
JONATHON COOPER 6’2” 234 FR
SLB JEROME BAKER 6’1” 215 SO
CHRIS WORLEY 6’2” 225 JR (R)
MLB RAEKWON MCMILLAN 6’2” 240 JR
NICK CONNER 6’3” 230 FR (R)
WLB DANTE BOOKER 6’3” 233 JR
JUSTIN HILLIARD 6’1” 230 FR (R)
CB GAREON CONLEY 6’0” 195 JR (R)
JORDAN FULLER 6’1” 196 FR
CB DAMON WEBB 5’11” 193 JR
ERIC GLOVER-WILLIAMS 5’9” 175 SO
S ERICK SMITH 6’0” 202 JR
CAM BURROWS 6’0” 208 SR
S MARSHON LATTIMORE 6’0” 195 SO (R)
MALIK HOOKER 6’2” 205 SO (R)
The 2016 version of the Silver Bullets will have a nice mixture of upper and lower classmen. The starting line-up has the same feel as the offense where juniors lead the way as I have seven juniors, three sophomores, and one freshman.
On the two-deep, it shows the balance of youth and experience in which Coach Fickell and Coach Schiano will have to play with this year. There are 11 upper-classmen (10 juniors/1 senior) and 11 lower-classmen (5 sophomores/6 freshmen) showing up on this initial draft of the defensive depth chart.
The biggest question marks going into spring is who will step up at defensive tackle and how will the secondary play out. At defensive tackle, will guys like Munger, Hill or Landers be able to hold off some of the younger defensive ends who may move inside? In the secondary, Coach Combs enjoys the versatility of the young players. Will guys like Lattimore or Webb be given the chance to move to safety? Or will a young unproven player like Hooker step up and have a great spring?
SPECIAL TEAMS
POS NAME HT WT CLASS
P CAMERON JOHNSTON 5’11” 195 SR
K SEAN NUERNBERGER 6’1” 220 JR
LS LIAM MCCULLOUGH 6’2” 210 FR (R)
PR ERIC GLOVER-WILLIAMS 5’9” 175 SO
AUSTIN MACK 6’2” 205 FR
KR DONTRE WILSON 5’10” 195 SR
PARRIS CAMPBELL 6’1” 205 SO (R)
The special teams depth chart will be hopefully be a little more stable than it was last year. It seemed like every week we were all left wondering who the Kicker was going to be and both guys struggled mightily. At punter, they have the Aussie sensation Cam Johnston back. At long-snapper, they have to replace Bryce Haynes who was phenomenal. The biggest question mark will be who is going to be the returners?
For now, I went with Glover-Williams at punt returner. He was a highly explosive player with the football in high school and came to Ohio State as an athlete. At kick returner, I think Wilson will initially get the job from Coach Meyer. He has a lot of experience at this spot and always seems like he is about to break one.
OVERALL
I think this team has the chance to be very good by the end of the year but I worry about having to face Oklahoma in the second week of the season. I think the offense will score points from the get go but I wonder how the new secondary will fare against Baker Mayfield. Luckily in my predicted depth-chart, the Buckeyes will have 16 upper-classmen starting which will help relieve the burden of replacing so many starters.
Over the summer, I will come back and update my depth charts after we get a chance to get through spring practice and see who impresses the most.
The post Pre-Spring Outlook: Overall Depth Chart appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...
Brandon Zimmerman via our good friends at Buckeye Battle Cry
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
Over the past three weeks, I have taken an in-depth look at each and every position for the Buckeyes going into spring practice, which is set to begin on tomorrow and culminate with the spring football game at Ohio Stadium on April 16th.
It will be exciting to see the progress some of the younger players have made, especially those redshirt freshmen. Many of these young student-athletes have the chance to jump into a pretty big role for the 2016 team. Guys like Mike Weber, Torrance Gibson, and K.J. Hill are poised to jump into the two-deep and show Buckeye Nation what they can offer. Additionally, six true freshmen early-enrollees will be suiting up in the scarlet and gray for the very first time. Will Jonathan Cooper, Austin Mack or Antonio Williams be able to crack the 2016 depth chart?
These spring practices are very important to all of these young men and will go a long way to determining how much time they spend on the field this year. Let’s take a look at my complete predicted 2016 depth-chart:
OFFENSE
POS NAME HT WT CLASS
QB J.T. BARRETT 6’2” 225 JR (R)
JOE BURROW 6’3” 208 FR (R)
STEPHEN COLLIER 6’4” 225 SO (R)
RB CURTIS SAMUEL 5’11” 200 JR
MIKE WEBER 5’10” 215 FR (R)
BRI’ONTE DUNN 6’0” 215 SR (R)
WR1 NOAH BROWN 6’2” 222 SO (R)
TORRANCE GIBSON 6’4” 205 FR (R)
JOHNNIE DIXON 5”11 194 SO (R)
WR2 COREY SMITH 6’1” 195 SR (R)
K.J. HILL 6’0” 195 FR (R)
AUSTIN MACK 6’2” 205 FR
H-BACK DONTRE WILSON 5’10” 195 SR
PARRIS CAMPBELL 6’1” 205 SO (R)
DEMARIO MCCALL 5’9” 171 FR
TE MARCUS BAUGH 6’5” 255 JR
JAKE HAUSMANN 6’4” 230 FR
LUKE FARRELL 6’6” 240 FR
LT MALCOLM PRIDGEON 6’8” 315 JR
ISAIAH PRINCE 6’7” 305 SO
LG BILLY PRICE 6’4” 315 JR (R)
MATT BURRELL 6’4” 300 FR (R)
C PAT ELFLEIN 6’3” 300 SR (R)
BRADY TAYLOR 6’5” 300 SO (R)
RG DEMETRIUS KNOX 6’4” 305 SO (R)
EVAN LISLE 6’7” 305 JR (R)
RT JAMARCO JONES 6’5” 310 JR (R)
ISAIAH PRINCE 6’4” 305 SO
As you can see, I think the Buckeyes will have a lot of experience on offense this year even if they are replacing a lot of players. I have them starting nine upper-classmen and both of the under-classmen are third year sophomores. If everyone stays healthy, I think the offense has a chance to be very special this year. The biggest key will be how quickly the offensive line comes together.
Behind the starters, I have a major influx of youth looking to make a major impact. With the veterans dominating my starting line-up, 15 of 17 back-up positions are filled with freshmen or sophomores.
The two biggest battles to watch this spring are at running back, where we will find out what the plan is with Curtis Samuel, and on the offensive line where you have six guys battling for three positions.
DEFENSE
POS NAME HT WT CLASS
DE TYQUAN LEWIS 6’4” 260 JR (R)
JAYLIN HOLMES 6’5” 265 JR
DT NICK BOSA 6’4” 265 FR
JASHON CORNELL 6’3” 265 FR (R)
DT DONOVAN MUNGER 6’4” 300 JR (R)
MICHAEL HILL 6’3” 295 JR (R)
DE SAM HUBBARD 6’5” 265 SO (R)
JONATHON COOPER 6’2” 234 FR
SLB JEROME BAKER 6’1” 215 SO
CHRIS WORLEY 6’2” 225 JR (R)
MLB RAEKWON MCMILLAN 6’2” 240 JR
NICK CONNER 6’3” 230 FR (R)
WLB DANTE BOOKER 6’3” 233 JR
JUSTIN HILLIARD 6’1” 230 FR (R)
CB GAREON CONLEY 6’0” 195 JR (R)
JORDAN FULLER 6’1” 196 FR
CB DAMON WEBB 5’11” 193 JR
ERIC GLOVER-WILLIAMS 5’9” 175 SO
S ERICK SMITH 6’0” 202 JR
CAM BURROWS 6’0” 208 SR
S MARSHON LATTIMORE 6’0” 195 SO (R)
MALIK HOOKER 6’2” 205 SO (R)
The 2016 version of the Silver Bullets will have a nice mixture of upper and lower classmen. The starting line-up has the same feel as the offense where juniors lead the way as I have seven juniors, three sophomores, and one freshman.
On the two-deep, it shows the balance of youth and experience in which Coach Fickell and Coach Schiano will have to play with this year. There are 11 upper-classmen (10 juniors/1 senior) and 11 lower-classmen (5 sophomores/6 freshmen) showing up on this initial draft of the defensive depth chart.
The biggest question marks going into spring is who will step up at defensive tackle and how will the secondary play out. At defensive tackle, will guys like Munger, Hill or Landers be able to hold off some of the younger defensive ends who may move inside? In the secondary, Coach Combs enjoys the versatility of the young players. Will guys like Lattimore or Webb be given the chance to move to safety? Or will a young unproven player like Hooker step up and have a great spring?
SPECIAL TEAMS
POS NAME HT WT CLASS
P CAMERON JOHNSTON 5’11” 195 SR
K SEAN NUERNBERGER 6’1” 220 JR
LS LIAM MCCULLOUGH 6’2” 210 FR (R)
PR ERIC GLOVER-WILLIAMS 5’9” 175 SO
AUSTIN MACK 6’2” 205 FR
KR DONTRE WILSON 5’10” 195 SR
PARRIS CAMPBELL 6’1” 205 SO (R)
The special teams depth chart will be hopefully be a little more stable than it was last year. It seemed like every week we were all left wondering who the Kicker was going to be and both guys struggled mightily. At punter, they have the Aussie sensation Cam Johnston back. At long-snapper, they have to replace Bryce Haynes who was phenomenal. The biggest question mark will be who is going to be the returners?
For now, I went with Glover-Williams at punt returner. He was a highly explosive player with the football in high school and came to Ohio State as an athlete. At kick returner, I think Wilson will initially get the job from Coach Meyer. He has a lot of experience at this spot and always seems like he is about to break one.
OVERALL
I think this team has the chance to be very good by the end of the year but I worry about having to face Oklahoma in the second week of the season. I think the offense will score points from the get go but I wonder how the new secondary will fare against Baker Mayfield. Luckily in my predicted depth-chart, the Buckeyes will have 16 upper-classmen starting which will help relieve the burden of replacing so many starters.
Over the summer, I will come back and update my depth charts after we get a chance to get through spring practice and see who impresses the most.
The post Pre-Spring Outlook: Overall Depth Chart appeared first on The Buckeye Battle Cry: Ohio State News and Commentary.
Continue reading...